BILL NUMBER: AB 2815 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 829
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 15, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 19, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Sections 48240, 48242, and 48244 of the Education
Code, relating to pupil attendance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2815, O'Donnell. Pupil attendance: supervisors of attendance.
Existing law requires the board of education of any school
district and of any county to appoint a supervisor of attendance and
any assistant supervisors of attendance as may be necessary to
supervise the attendance of pupils in the district or county, and
requires the board to prescribe the duties of the supervisor of
attendance and assistant supervisors of attendance in accordance with
specified provisions. Existing law authorizes a school district,
with the approval of the county board of education, to contract with
the county superintendent of schools for the supervision of
attendance of pupils in the school district.
This bill would delete the requirement that a county board of
education approve a contract between a school district and the county
superintendent of schools for the supervision of attendance of
pupils in the school district. The bill would express the Legislature'
s intent that a supervisor of attendance perform specified functions,
and would authorize the supervisor of attendance to provide support
services and interventions, as provided. The bill would also make
nonsubstantive changes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 48240 of the Education Code is amended to read:
48240. (a) The governing board of each school district and each
county superintendent of schools shall appoint a supervisor of
attendance and any assistant supervisors of attendance as may be
necessary to supervise the attendance of pupils in the school
district or county. The governing board of the school district or
county superintendent of schools shall prescribe the duties of the
supervisor of attendance and assistant supervisors of attendance to
include, among other duties that may be required, those specific
duties related to compulsory full-time education, truancy, work
permits, compulsory continuation education, and opportunity schools,
classes, and programs, now required of the attendance supervisors by
this chapter and Article 4 (commencing with Section 48450) of Chapter
3 and Article 2 (commencing with Section 48640) of Chapter 4 of this
part.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that in performing his or
her duties, the supervisor of attendance promotes a culture of
attendance and establishes a system to accurately track pupil
attendance in order to achieve all of the following:
(1) Raise the awareness of school personnel, parents, guardians,
caregivers, community partners, and local businesses of the effects
of chronic absenteeism and truancy and other challenges associated
with poor attendance.
(2) Identify and respond to grade level or pupil subgroup patterns
of chronic absenteeism or truancy.
(3) Identify and address factors contributing to chronic
absenteeism and habitual truancy, including suspension and expulsion.
(4) Ensure that pupils with attendance problems are identified as
early as possible to provide applicable support services and
interventions.
(5) Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented to reduce
chronic absenteeism rates and truancy rates.
(c) The supervisor of attendance may provide support services and
interventions, which may include, but are not limited to, any or all
of the following:
(1) A conference between school personnel, the pupil's parent or
guardian, and the pupil.
(2) Promoting cocurricular and extracurricular activities that
increase pupil connectedness to school, such as tutoring, mentoring,
the arts, service learning, or athletics.
(3) Recognizing pupils who achieve excellent attendance or
demonstrate significant improvement in attendance.
(4) Referral to a school nurse, school counselor, school
psychologist, school social worker, and other pupil support personnel
for case management and counseling.
(5) Collaboration with child welfare services, law enforcement,
courts, public health care agencies, or government agencies, or
medical, mental health, and oral health care providers to receive
necessary services.
(6) Collaborating with school study teams, guidance teams, school
attendance review teams, or other intervention-related teams to
assess the attendance or behavior problem in partnership with the
pupil and his or her parents, guardians, or caregivers.
(7) In schools with significantly higher rates of chronic
absenteeism, identify barriers to attendance that may require
schoolwide strategies rather than case management.
(8) Referral for a comprehensive psychosocial or psychoeducational
assessment, including for purposes of creating an individualized
education program for an individual with exceptional needs, as that
term is defined in Section 56026, or plan adopted for a qualified
handicapped person, as that term is defined in regulations
promulgated by the United States Department of Education pursuant to
Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec.
794).
(9) Referral to a school attendance review board established by
the county or by a school district pursuant to Section 48321 or to
the probation department pursuant to Section 48263.
(10) Referral to a truancy mediation program operated by the
county's district attorney or probation officer pursuant to Section
48260.6.
SEC. 2. Section 48242 of the Education Code is amended to read:
48242. The governing board of a school district may appoint a
school district supervisor of attendance to act under the direction
of the county supervisor of attendance.
SEC. 3. Section 48244 of the Education Code is amended to read:
48244. A school district may contract with the county
superintendent of schools for the supervision of attendance of pupils
in the school district. The county superintendent of schools shall
transfer from the funds of the school district to the county school
service fund an amount equal to the actual cost of providing for the
supervision of attendance.